Sunday, March 6, 2011

Expenses of a K College Student

College is not cheap. Not only do we have to pay thousands of dollars on tuition a year, but we have to spend our left over income on everyday expenses that we might have. Our tuition, room and board for K College, just like for any other college/university, does not include the many things that we have to spend on in a daily basis. It is sometimes necessary to spend on outside things such as food and entertainment and this is when our income tends to be hurt. Based on a survey done at K, the amount of money spent on necessities can reach high amounts.

Out of the 100 respondents (53 female and 47 male who live on campus) of the survey, the average college student at K College’s income is distributed as follows: 21% on outside food, 9% on clothing, 15% on groceries, 9% on cell phone charges, 7% on transportation, 11% on enterainment, 11% on school supplies, 10% on alcohol, and 7% on other expenses last month. Of the all the respondents, 41% of them said to have an on-campus job, while 51% said they didn’t. The average monthly income, based on the data is said to be $122.67 dollars per month and an average of $87.7 dollars in aprental allowance, which is not a big amount considering the many expenses a college student has according to the survey.

These numbers give us a better understanding of the average K College student. Despite the expensive meal plan that on-campus studetns are forced to have, 36% of their monthly income goes to outside food and groceries, that is more than the 21% that is used on alcohol and entertainment. Based on these numbers, it is safe to say that students are not very happy with the food offered on campus, which is encouraging the expenditure outside food and groceries.Almost half of the students who live on campus an on-campus job with a stable bi-weekly salary. Depending on the number of hours worked during the week and with an allowance, students average over $200 dollars to spend per month, and accroding to the survey, this sometimes is not enough.

K College students have to include the burden of expenses to their large amount of money in their education every month, and with the lack of time fro many working hours, this is not always easy to do. The help of parents is very important for the daily living of their student and by doing so, giving their economic situation the boost it needs.